Just A Bit Outside: Blue III wishes Sochi dogs well

As news spread that Sochi, Russia, has a problem with stray dogs which has led to hundreds being killed in an attempt to clear the streets for Friday's Olympics opening ceremonies, Butler University's bulldog mascot saw the opportunity to offer a canine comment.

Trip, known in the college sports community as Blue III, has his own Twitter account. Handler Michael Kaltenmark tweeted on Trip's behalf: "In all seriousness though, the stray dog situation in Sochi is heartbreaking. Sending warm thoughts to those pups." The tweet included a link to a story in The New York Times on the Sochi dog situation.

She writes: "I doubt you take stock in what those analysts say about your legacy (no doubt a trait your father has clearly bestowed upon you and your brothers), but I want you to know that this mom of two young boys who already recognize you're different from the others, believes your legacy has never been stronger.

And I'm confident thousands of others agree with me."

The media has speculated about if Manning's NFL legacy was tarnished by a 43-8 loss to Seattle in Super Bowl XLVIII. Lattimore-Volkmann reminds the quarterback's legacy goes beyond being the league's only five-time MVP.

"Whether you win another game, your accomplishments in football are nothing short of remarkable — alongside many other outstanding players. But it's your character that sets you apart from so many of your predecessors and peers," she writes.

When told coach Jimbo Fisher mentioned the likelihood of the passer playing at least two more years for the Seminoles, Winston told the Associated Press that "most likely is true."

Winston helped Florida State win a national championship as a freshman. Winston says he plans to play baseball next season, too.

How about Super Bowl in Pittsburgh?

(Photo: Gene J. Puskar / AP)

Now that the NFL has pulled off a cold-weather Super Bowl, it's opened up possibilities for another. Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II would like to see the Steel City land one.

“I think it would be great for our city.”

— Art Rooney II, on Pittsburgh as possible Super Bowl site

"I think it would be great for our city," Rooney told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "This, in some people's mind, is the birthplace of professional football. We certainly have a great tradition of being a football kind of town. I think it would be a great thing for us to do at some point."

Philadelphia, New England, Denver, Chicago and Washington -- all cold-weather cities with open stadiums -- have also expressed interest in hosting the NFL championship game, the story reports.

"I think in the future there's going to be more opportunities for Northern cities to bid on the game," Rooney said. "I think it would be great for our city to explore it. It's something we want to explore over the next year or so to see if there's an interest in pursuing it."

A big issue would be hotel rooms. The NFL has a basic requirement of 30,000 quality hotel rooms within a 90-minute drive of the stadium and Pittsburgh would likely need every room in that specified area to make it work.

Rigorous training for Sochi

The Sochi Olympics requires extensive workouts, which prompted Hoosier-bred journalist Jason Thomas to offer a creative take on what athletes endure to be ready for Russia.

Thomas tweeted a picture from the movie "Rocky IV," where actor Sylvester Stallone is pulling a sled carrying Burt Young and wood, and wrote: "Team #USA training hard during downtime at #Sochi2014. We got this. #Rocky"

Let's hope the Americans didn't need to resort to such primitive means to prepare. But it worked for Rocky, who defeated Drago in the movie.

He talked to the men who come flying down the hill laying flat, including Switzerland's Gregory Carigiet. The competitor talks about his awareness that it's dangerous and mentions a crash five years ago in which he broke his nose, suffered a concussion and badly cut himself above an eye.